Virginia Governor Tim Kaine Urges University of Virginia Graduates to Become Adventurers

May 21, 2006 — Under cloudless skies on the University of Virginia's historic Lawn, Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine invited members of the University's graduating Class of 2006 to be adventurers in the spirit of Captain John Smith and Lewis & Clark.

Kaine was the principal speaker for the event during which President John T. Casteen III conferred degrees on more than 6,000 graduates.

Inaugurated as Virginia's 70th governor in January, Kaine told the graduates that he would be at Jamestown the following day to help begin an 18-month celebration of America's 400th anniversary. Referring to the uncertain futures into which both Captain John Smith and the Virginia Company and later the explorers Lewis & Clark embarked, the governor commended to the students "the simple and enduring beauty of adventure, discovery and surprise."

"One of the greatest joys in life is not knowing what you'll find," Kaine said. "Embrace people you don't know, accept challenges you don't fully comprehend, live out stories whose last chapters haven't been written." MORE